The present invention relates to a technique for managing resources in computers.
Nowadays, it is popular for computers to present business through the Internet, such as on-line shopping. Many service providers (for example, on-line sales companies) do not have their own computers or server systems for providing business, but they borrow them from specialized (or rental) agencies instead. Such services that lend computers for sending information through the Internet are generally called “hosting”.
On the other hand, “A resource” means a computer's resource to be borrowed/lent in the hosting. Examples of such resources include hardware resources for executing application software including application specific servers, central processing units (CPUs), memories, hard disk drives (HDDs) and load balancers, as well as software resources such as application software packages.
The specifications defining web service representation of resources and web service management of resources are described in OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards) as “Management Using Web Services” and “Management Of Web Services”, respectively (WSDM (Web Services Distributed Management)) [on line], [retrieval date: Feb. 15, 2005], the Internet <URL: http://docs.oasis-open.org/wsdm/2004/12/wsdm-1.0.zip>.
Hosting companies have center apparatuses (or centers) having resources, and centers provide business to users by lending these resources. To give an example, centers provide business to user-terminals by lending use web servers (that is, resources), such as presenting merchandise catalogs of on-line shopping. A center maintains a resource for each business, and executes hosting. An example of an allocation method for presenting resources to users is described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2004-240671 (paragraph [0013]). This publication discloses a method and system for processing distributed computer systems.
Specifications defining general modeling and access process of resources using web services are described in OASIS “WSRF (Web Services Resource Framework)”, [on line], [retrieval date: Feb. 15, 2005], the Internet <URL: http://docs.oasis-open.org/wsrf/2004/11/wsrf-WS-Resource-1.2-draft-02.pdf>, or “WSRP (Web Services Resource Properties)”, [on line], [retrieval date: Feb. 15, 2005], <URL: http://docs.oasis-open.org/wsrf/2004/11/wsrf-WS-ResourcePrope rties-1.2-draft-05.pdf>.
In a center, there is a possibility that one or more resources cannot be used, because the failure of the sources or access concentration thereon causes a business process load to exceed the maximum capacity. In this case, one or more resources that perform hosting may be lacked temporarily in a center. Therefore, conventionally, prior to the temporary shortage of a resource, a center analyses a shortage factor and, then makes a contract with another center for borrowing a backup resource.
The contract for borrowing a resource is made based on “the WS-Agreement” that defines the specifications of a contract between a resource provider and a consumer. Even when a resource is lacking, a center can avoid the suspension of business by ensuring backup resources. The WS-Agreement is described in GGF (Global grid forum) GRAAP-WG, “WS-Agreement”, [on line], [retrieval date: Feb. 15, 2005], the Internet <URL: http://forge.gridforum.org/projects/graap-wg/document/WS-Agre ementSpecificationDraft.doc/en/24